Confessions
by kerrbear
Summary: Karai has reconciled the Shredder and has destroyed millions of lives with his return. The turtles set off to stop him. As Leo sets back into old habits each brother learns something shocking about each other that they could never possibly imagine. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

All right, I'm a bit rusty because I haven't written a TMNT fic in a while; bit I hope you can enjoy this story. Please review me to help make this a more enjoyable fic for everyone. Thank you!

Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT! Although I wish I did so I could get rid of that stupid Fast Forward series they've got going on…--'

&&&&&&

Location: Area 51 Naval Base

The young Asian woman paced the floor outside of a cell at Area 51 rather impatiently. She should have heard from Agent Bishop by now with the status…Worthless imbecile.

Karai let out an exasperated sigh and sat down outside of the sealed cell waiting for some sign that everything was going the way she wanted. She had been working on this 'project' for two years…And finally after many miscalculations and frustrations, her plan was on the verge of being complete.

After the Shredder was banished onto that pitiful frozen planet by those ungrateful terrapins, she knew that she must somehow bring her Master back. She could not run the Foot clan by herself in both New York and Japan, and most of the Foot was refusing to listen to her because they could not accept her as their new leader, and being most unworthy in the process. This was mostly due to the fact that she had sided with the turtles and played the role as her father, if it hadn't been for the return of her father shortly after that, they probably would have killed her.

Of course, once she realized that the Foot would not listen to her willingly, she knew that she had to bring back her Father, if only to set things right. The Foot mainly did as they pleased, and it appeared that another City War had started…One that Karai did not want to put up with again. So, for weeks she puzzled over how to bring her father back. It then occurred to her that the Shredder still had some ootrom technology stored away for future uses. Her father had taught her the ways of the ootroms and how to work their technology; therefore her idea should be no problem.

With hope in her heart she was able to retrieve the assistance of the Foot ninjas, who only did so willingly because of the fact their Master would return after this project was complete most likely. The problem was that Karai did not know the exact coordinates of the plant's location that the Shredder was banished to for all eternity. That task in and of itself took painstaking months of hard work to track it down. Once doing that, they had to discover more about the planet, such as its atmosphere. Once that was complete, it was time to get down to business of retrieving her father. For those two years she went through frustrations and miscalculations, judging either too high or too low, before finding the perfect tool to make her experiment a success. She had managed to create a transportation system using advanced ootrom technology.

Now, Karai waited anxiously outside of the cell where Agent Bishop was working diligently to repair her father's frozen and somewhat deteriorated body back to the way it once was.

The young ninja warrior knew what her father's plans were. As punishment to the ootroms for their treachery on banishing him on such a planet, he would most likely destroy the entire clan of ootroms. Then he would most likely want to gain his rightful place in New York before destroying the turtles for stopping him for doing what he needed to do.

Karai felt a great rush of anger hit her hard in her gut at the thought of the turtles. And to think she had once had feelings for Leonardo. Those feelings were long over. She felt betrayed by what he had done. Although it still pained her to fight his family, she had soon grown accustomed to it, and she knew that they deserved that and whatever it was her father had in store for them…Even if it was death. Karai no longer felt any remorse. She had waited two years for her father's return and she would not lose him again to the turtles.

Just as Karai was about ready to bust down the door to her father herself, a green light glowed above the door signaling that after three days the deed was done and her father was restored.

"Finally." Karai muttered as she cautiously opened the door and stepped inside to the somewhat dim room.

"Welcome back." Karai said smoothly as she knelt before her father's body.

Agent Bishop waited in the shadows to see if there were any further orders needed for him.

"I believe that it is about time we caught up with some of our old friends…Don't you Karai?" A cold sinister voice asked, making Karai shiver.

Despite herself, Karai smirked, knowing what was in store. "Yes Master…"

"You're suit is being created as we speak." Bishop's voice replied monotonously.

"Excellent."

"I _do_ believe that that time has come." Karai said, her eyes flashing with a fury she had never felt before in her life.

&&&&&&

Location: New York City, Underground sewer systems

"You guys! I know you're happy for me, but…Don't you think this 'bridal shower' is a little extreme?" Twenty-five year old April O'Neil asked, trying to hide her smile. She once again gazed around at the elaborately decorated lair, and was still slightly shocked that the guys had gone so far over the top for her.

It had been two years since Shredder's banishment, and it was after that that April and Casey finally decided to give into temptation and become an official couple. It seemed like a perfect time with the Shredder finally gone, and the amount of violence in their lives diminishing slightly. Now, just six months away, was they're wedding…And the guys had really gotten into the spirit of things. They had been waiting so long for this moment, and even Leo, who had been under such a great deal of depression for so long, had gotten into the spirit of 'young love'.

"Come on April! Lighten up! After all…It's not everyday you're engaged!" Raph said cheerfully.

"Besides…We won't have you to ourselves much longer…So we better enjoy the good times while we can." Donnie piped up. He instantly regretted ever saying something like that. He mentally slapped himself, knowing that he sounded like a bitter, stupid old dope that was jealous of April getting married.

April chuckled and flicked Donnie in the forehead. "Silly…You act as if I'm about to move to another planet."

Donnie blushed and grinned bashfully up at April. Although, he was mentally thinking how she really was going to another planet…Yes…The wonderful world of blissful matrimony.

April grinned at Donnie's bashful expression as he quickly turned away from her. April had to admit that there was definitely a change in character in all of the guys. A huge burden had been lifted off their shoulders with the Shredder gone. They were much happier and seemed…_Free_ almost. Of course, they still had the occasional street thugs to break up, but for the most part there were really no more late night patrols, or any plans for taking down the Shredder when the next attack came.

April was pulled out of her reverie however, when Mikey popped in between April and Donnie.

"Can I have the cake now?" Mikey whined. Donnie shot Mikey a menacing glare signaling that he would deal with him later. Mike responded with a confused look and Donnie shook his head in exasperation.

"For crying out loud Mikey! April just got here! We can't have the cake now!" Raph snapped.

"But I'm hungry!" Mikey whined.

"You just ate!" Raph exclaimed in exasperation.

Mikey was about to come back with a retort before he saw Leo and Splinter approaching them from their afternoon meditation.

Mikey grinned innocently and pointed at Raph quickly. "He started it." And with that, Mikey darted into the kitchen for escape.

Leo and Splinter exchanged puzzled looks while Raph shook his fist and shouted at Mikey.

Donnie and April looked on throughout all of this. Donnie had to admit that he was pretty amazed with Leo's change in character. He was more fun, and seemed to enjoy life a lot more. He still took training seriously, that would never change, but his perspective and attitude was more uplifting, and that was what Donnie liked to see. He still often worried that Leo would slip slowly back into his depression, but so far no signs of that seemed to be appearing, at least, any that Don could see anyway.

Meanwhile, April was concerned about Mikey. It was odd…As soon as Mikey saw Splinter; he had left the room. It was almost as if he had been…Afraid of him. April glanced at Donnie to see if he had also noticed Mikey's sudden change in behavior as well, but Donnie only showed amusement as Raph tried to explain what had happened to Leo, who looked just as perplexed as ever. April shrugged off the feeling of uneasiness and decided to enjoy the show between the two siblings.

"Wait…Why can't we have the cake now?" Leo asked.

"Because—" Raph began.

"—It's not ruined is it?" Leo asked, panic growing in his voice.

"No, but—"

"—Raph, I can't understand you when you're angry so just _**calmly**_ spit it out." Leo said.

"**I'M TRYING!** Oh…Forget it!" Raph snapped before storming into the kitchen where Mikey had escaped.

Leo made eye contact with Donnie who was grinning at him.

"Excellent acting skills. I think that took less that two minutes to get him really peeved." Donnie said triumphantly.

Leo beamed. "Thanks…I try."

And with that, Leo waltzed into the kitchen, not before hearing April mutter a "You guys are hopeless" after him.

As soon as Leo entered the kitchen he saw Mikey cornered against a wall while Raph stood over him with his fist raised.

Leo calmly retrieved a few tea bags and began to boil some water.

"Raph…Try not to kill Mikey while company is over…Save it until after please."

Raph growled and whipped around to let off steam in his room.

Leo shook his head and smacked Mikey in the back of the head affectionately. Mikey grinned at him in return.

"Watch it shell-for-brains, I'm not always going to be around to protect you."

Mikey froze in the doorway, his face becoming grim. "What do you mean?"

Leo turned around and slapped Mikey on the shoulder with a grin. "Cool it Mikey…I mean I'm not going to be around to protect you from the Big Bad Raphie. Eventually I might just let him pelt you…Why? What did you think I meant?"

Mikey smirked. "Nothing…Forget it."

As soon as Mikey was no longer within the proximity of the kitchen he gave out a relieved sigh. Even though Leo seemed to have snapped out of his depression, Mikey still wondered that he might be hiding it. His comment back there had made him instantly think that Leo was thinking of committing suicide, and that was his little message to Mikey. Thank God that wasn't what it was. Mikey shuddered. Despite the fact that Leo was older than he was, he had still secretly took on the task of looking after Leo even if he may not realize it. This was due to the fact that Leo's attitude had scared him. He could never turn the corner back then without worrying about Leo jumping down his throat about training, or finding him training so hard he might hurt himself. Then there were those odd moments where Leo would just sit and stare at nothing and ask what the point of living was. Mikey shuddered again. He never wanted to see Leo look that depressed again, let alone act like that.

He turned the corner after collecting his bearings and found Donnie, April, and Splinter sitting in the living room chatting and laughing. Mikey smiled slightly and went to go sit with them…After all; it was time to be the entertainer again.

&&&&&&

Later that night Donnie gave out an exasperated sigh. It was no use. He had been trying for three hours now to get back to sleep from the dream he had, that he could no longer remember, but sleep was to no avail. He was either too hot, or too cold, or he just couldn't get comfortable. _'Damn sewers.'_ Donnie thought bitterly to himself.

Finally, Donnie decided to get up and make some warm milk or something to see if that might relax him. Donnie cautiously crept down the stairs, cautious to not to disturb his brothers. As he passed his lab, he noticed a green light glowing from his computer screen with a blinking message blipping onto the screen warning him about some intergalactic web mail he had just received. Curiously, Donnie walked over and clicked onto the blipping message. Instantly, his eyes widened.

"LEO!" He shouted.

&&&&&&

The four brothers stood gathered around Don's computer and were shocked at the footage displayed on the screen. The footage was sent by the ootroms, and from the looks of it, they had been ambushed. Charred bits and pieces left of buildings were left with thousands…Possibly millions…Of dead and burnt ootroms littering the battlefield. Again and again the footage replayed the horrifying attack of explosions going off with screaming victims fleeing everywhere, then being either shot or worse. Leo surveyed the video grimly and kept watching intently for any sign of whom would send this to them, and why.

All of sudden Leo called out a loud shout to stop the camera and Donnie quickly froze the screen.

"Back up the tape in slow motion," Donnie complied. "There! Right there! Zoom in on that craft right there!" Donnie did so and was shocked to find the Foot symbol etched onto the side of the craft.

"The Foot? But…Why would they have any interest in the ootroms? Unless…" Donnie trailed off as realization donned on him.

"The Shredder has returned," Leo said, his voice shaking with fury. "Millions of lives gone under his hands, and he shows no remorse."

"Leo…Calm down…" Mikey pleaded.

"CALM DOWN? The whole planet is _**destroyed**_ in case you didn't notice Mikey! Are there any remaining victims?" Leo asked whipping around to face Donnie.

Donnie cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably. "Unfortunately, no. Whoever sent us this was the last one to be alive before he or she died. Obviously they knew that we could help them, even though by now it's too late. As you can see from the footage, most of their weapons or explosives are either triceraton, which most likely came from Bishop might I add, or ootrom weaponry. After most of the damage was done, they unleashed a poisonous gas that took out the last of the ootroms, there are no more ootroms that could possibly have survived. You can notice the gaseous fumes rising up from the ground here."

"Genocide…He committed a genocide all because of one stupid sentence that he deserved…" Leo seethed through his gritted teeth.

"I think this probably goes back farther than that…He would've done this eventually Leo, that was his plans…The ootroms knew that. I'm sure he also got some other alliances to help him with this, he couldn't have done this alone…But more likely than not he formed an alliance with some sort of terrorist group from another planet." Donnie said.

"I want to kill him." Leo said seriously before he slammed his fist down hard on the desk.

Mikey flinched and took a step back, knowing better than to get in the way of Leo's fury.

"Where do we go from here?" Raph asked grimly.

"We find him and we stop him no matter what it takes. He could destroy more innocent lives if we let this continue any more than this has all ready gone on. We don't even know how long he's been around for so he could have destroyed more lives without our knowledge. I will not stand here and allow him to hurt anymore people! He's done this for years, centuries…And we cannot let it continue. This ends now!" Leo said dangerously.

"But…Leo…The Shredder most likely wants to kill us and get us out of the way so he can continue on with his plans." Mikey said meekly.

Leo whipped around. "Your point is what exactly?" He lashed out at him.

Mikey bit his lip and remained silent while Donnie and Raph looked away.

Leo turned back to them. "Training starts at four tomorrow and we think of a strategy to stop him and bring him down. He knows our weakness, now we just have to find his." Leo said before abruptly leaving the lab and slamming the door to his room leaving three concerned brothers in his wake.

&&&&&&

Shredder smirked as he replayed the two footages again and again. One on the attack on the cursed ootroms, one less enemy he had to worry about, and the other of the scene Leonardo had made as soon as he had seen the footage.

So they would be trying to stop him, a minor annoyance. They had no more alliances as far as he was concerned, and even if they did, he had far more powerful alliances on his side. Phase one was complete and now he moved into the second phase before going into the third phase. And the second phase was simple and would be over with quickly…

Shredder flicked on a third scene and smirked at the two people most dear to the turtles.

…The destruction of Casey Jones and April O'Neil.

"You can come to me all you want Leonardo, and you may drag your brothers and your poor decrepit father, but you know that I am better and I will win and destroy you…And not anyone and anything will stand in my way. After all, this war is all about revenge."

&&&&&&

Yay! I'm finally done with the first chapter! You have no idea how long this took me to write! I know that whole thing with Shredder taking down the ootroms in one moment like that is next to impossible, but everyone will learn to deal with it. ;; Please review me and give me any advice you may have for improvement. If I receive no reviews, I won't continue, because how can I know if I'm bringing enjoyment to my readers if I receive no reviews? Anyway, thanks for reading, and please click the little blue button before exiting!


	2. Grief Consumes All

Thanks to TheIncredibleDancingBetty my sole reviewer. Come on guys, there were 74 of you who read this yesterday!

&&&&&&

Location: New York City sewer systems

Raph gave out a heavy sigh as he collapsed on the couch. Leo had had them up since four o'clock training, and now it was eight o'clock. That was four agonizing hours of blows, strikes, kicks, flips etc; and each one had a criticism or a complaint.

Ever since that video footage with the ootroms, Leo had been on edge, and that had only been six hours ago! Raph could imagine what living with him for the next coupe of months would mean. Even so, Leo was really angry, and Raph couldn't even get back to sleep last night because all he could hear from Leo's room next door was banging and profanities.

Raph rubbed his forehead tiredly as he thought about collapsing on the couch right now and going to sleep for a few hours. As the idea began to grow more and more tempting, he soon realized that he had company. Mikey was sitting in the armchair next to him with his arms crossed and looking visibly upset, not to mention he was shaking violently.

Raph frowned, and despite himself, he grew concerned. It wasn't like Mike to act like that. He couldn't tell if it was because of the amount of exercise, or if it was because of what was going on with Leo. Either way, he was going to find out.

"Mike? You okay?

"Peachy." Mikey replied darkly, refusing to make eye contact with him.

"What's the matter?" Raph asked hesitantly, and immediately regretted mentioning it.

Mikey's head snapped around and he looked close to tears which really surprised Raph a great deal, after all, Mikey wasn't known for having meltdowns.

"What's wrong? You really want to know what's wrong Raph? Okay, my brother is basically labeled mentally unstable and could go ahead and kill himself at any second, and I can't help him at all because I'm just the big stupid baby, and I'm just sick of all this fighting, and revenge, and ninjitsu crap, okay Raph?" Mikey snapped before he stood up and left the room in a huff.

Raph blinked and stood up slowly and decided to leave the living room in case Mikey came back for any reason. He decided instead to go into the kitchen to get a bottle of water. As soon as he entered the kitchen though, he was ready to shoot himself in the foot, and he had to do everything in his power to not give out a groan, but to keep it inward.

Leo was sitting at the kitchen table with an untouched teacup sitting in front of him. He was also staring intently at the wall as if the entire answer to the universe was written on there. Raph even looked over to see if the answer really _was_ there. Raph shrugged to himself and went over to get his water bottle. By this point he was used to Leo doing this, although right now he was starting to get a little creeped out, and the silence was beginning to grow unbearable like a thick, itchy wool blanket that was too hot and too uncomfortable. So, after retrieving his water, he decided to sit across from Leo just to see if there were any signs of life in him.

Once Raph sat down he thought of conversing with him, but decided against it seeing the look on Leo's face of deep thought.

The silence seemed to grow heavier and heavier until Raph felt like he was about to suffocate from it. Finally, without looking at him, Leo spoke, his eyes seeing something else as he stared off into space.

"…I think…We should leave on patrol as late as tomorrow night." Leo said hollowly, glancing down at his teacup as if not knowing what he was supposed to do with it.

Raph took a sip of his water and watched Leo cautiously before replying. The problem with Leo was that you could never tell what his mood was, he was that good at hiding his own emotions.

"…Or maybe we could just track down the Shredder and take him down." Leo finished absently.

Raph choked on his water and spilled some of the contents onto the table. "What? Don't you think that's a little too early? I mean, we are a bit rusty, and we're definitely not ready to face the Shredder yet—"

Raph cut himself off as Leo glowered at him from across the table, finally seeing him. And Raph realized that that was a wrong thing to say. "The Shredder could be killing more innocent people as we speak, and you expect me to do nothing? You're lucky that I'm not sending us on patrol tonight."

"But Leo, we are doing something! We're training to perfection here to defeat the Shredder! I mean, which would you rather have? Us being prepared for battle, or dying because we weren't ready for battle?"

"Donnie is thinking of a strategy as we speak, I'm sure that'll help us out greatly." Leo said icily.

"What good is a strategy going to do if we're not trained properly? You'd rather have us die?"

"We would be dying with honor!" Leo snapped.

"Pfft! Honor! Listen to yourself Leo. You're becoming obsessed. You're so focused on destroying the Shredder that you're forgetting about the safety of your own fami—"

"DON'T LECTURE ME ABOUT FAMILY! I KNOW MORE THAN YOU'LL EVER KNOW ABOUT WHAT THIS FAMILY NEEDS AND DOESN'T NEED! I GUESS IT'S TIME YOU LARNED THAT TOO!" Leo thundered before stalking out of the room.

For the second time that day, Raph sat in stunned silence. "Oh, I'm off on a great role today!" Raph said sarcastically.

&&&&&&

'_Stupid, stupid, stupid!' _Mikey thought to himself as he kicked a pile of video games in frustration. He was supposed to be looking out for Leo, and sure, he couldn't control Leo's feelings, but damn it if he wasn't going to at least try to make him feel better! Now instead, Leo was pushing himself and them harder than ever before and he wasn't even seeing his brothers as his family anymore.

Mikey slammed his fist in frustration. They were close, they were this close to him reaching full recovery, and just like that, everything went down the tubes by one simple video that was less than five minutes long. He hated himself for feeling so weak like this. He hated Leo for pushing himself too hard. He hated Master Splinter for making him like that. He hated Raph for only seeming to care about himself, and even if he did reveal concern, it was always in a gruff way. And he also hated Donnie for being so involved in his work. He hated everyone because nobody could understand him. All anyone ever saw him, as was the funny, stupid baby who knew nothing about anything except the latest jokes and pranks. And God forbid he think of a worthwhile idea, or being serious; everyone would jump to conclusions and think he was delirious or something.

Mikey ground his teeth. Why couldn't he be serious? Why couldn't he think of a good idea? Why couldn't he be the hero for once? Why couldn't he smack someone else in the head for once? Why couldn't he be sensitive, why did he always have to be tough? He didn't want to be tough, he didn't want to make people fear him, and he most definitely did not want to fight. Not anymore at least, his fun was over, he wanted to move on. Heck, he didn't want to be a stupid ninja for crying out loud!

Mikey turned to face a photograph that was sitting on his bedside table. It was a photograph of his family that April had taken. With cold eyes, he stared into the eyes of the happy smiling faces of his family. But from their eyes you could tell that it was all fake, their smiles masking their true feelings, and just proving that all that happiness was a lie.

Mikey gazed at himself in the picture. He had a cheesy grin plastered on his face while Raph had slung and arm around his neck with a lopsided grin, while Donnie was smiling and not looking directly at the camera. If you looked close enough, you could see that Donnie was looking downward with a faraway gaze, and Raph's eyes were cold. But, as Mikey looked harder into the cold, emotionless eyes as his own, he realized that he was the biggest truest fake, and that made him ashamed. What happened to the times where he had always had a sparkle in his eyes? With this realization, Mikey's eyes flashed in anger as he stared at himself.

"I hate you, I HATE YOU!"

&&&&&&

Leo sat on his bed thinking back on the years of past events. There were often moments where Leo would think about past battles with the Shredder, or the Foot, or even Agent Bishop; and each battle appeared fresh in his mind as if it had just occurred yesterday. And every time he replayed a scene he always saw himself failing? When had he let things get this bad? He was always failing to make a harder strike, or he would miss the enemy by mere inches, or he would fail to let the enemies receive a finishing blow. He had failed and let his family down countless times, and he hated it. Yet they showed him kindness in return. Offering him advice, or sacrificing their free time to be his sparring partner, or they were listening to him, supporting him no matter what, showing their concern for him…He didn't deserve any of that.

Leo sighed. Often times he would wish he were someone else, whether they were dead or alive, it didn't matter to him, just as long as he could be anybody else. He was no leader, and he hated the added pressure to be perfect. Perfect brother, perfect skills, perfect leader, perfect ninja, perfect son…He hated all of it. He wished he could just disappear, or have someone else take his place. He'd give anything to be Donnie, Raph, or Mikey, if only for a day, if only to escape his inner demons that was constantly tormenting him.

If he wasn't thinking about this, he was thinking of life before the Shredder, how carefree and happy everyone was. He wished he could be there again and freeze the timeframe forever without every having to move forward. He wished for a lot of things nowadays. And here he was wishing for the impossible while the Shredder was killing more lives.

Leo shook his head in agitation. Time to focus on being the 'perfect' leader and thinking up the 'perfect' strategy again.

(AN: Notice that Mikey and Leo are sharing similar feelings here.)

&&&&&&

Donnie sat at his computer and shifted through the countless files he had on the Foot, plus a blueprint of Foot headquarters that April had scanned for him when they had first entered that place.

Donnie sighed. _April…_

Donnie turned to a framed picture framed on his desk that April had taken for fun last summer. It wasn't anything special. It was just a picture of Donnie…With April over his shoulder laughing…With her arms wrapped around his neck…With her engagement ring shining brightly…While Casey took the picture.

Donnie sighed again at their happy faces, an emotion he rarely had anymore. April's ring really seemed to be popping out of the picture lately, and it was almost as if it was taunting him. Donnie was happy for April, he knew that she would be happy and that Casey would be the best person for her…But would he really? After all, Casey was pretty dumb, and Donnie was a certified genius. Plus, April and him had way more in common than her and Casey. So what made him so special?

He's human… 

Donnie shook his head. Even if he had told April that he had feelings for her, she never would have gone with him, it never would have worked out. Besides, he couldn't jeopardize her privileges and freedom of living above ground for her to be with him. April wanted to live a normal life, and she wouldn't be happy if she had to live the rest of her life down in the sewers, constantly in danger. And in Donnie's heart, he always knew that Casey came first in her mind. When he was there, she didn't notice anyone else; she just looked through you…

Donnie turned back to the frustrating task before him to get his mind off his thoughts and scrolled down the screen, not really seeing anything. After all, he knew all of this. The Shredder was an ootrom; he had advanced technology, which made this a disadvantage to everyone else…Blah, blah, blah. How was any of this going to help him find his weakness?

Donnie's eyes wandered to the file labeled 'Karai' and he hesitantly clicked on it. He really didn't know much about Karai, just that she was an abandoned orphan raised by the Shredder to work in the Foot Cl—Wait…Raised by the Shredder? Don snapped his fingers. That was it! Splinter's weakness was his sons, so maybe Shredder's weakness was losing his daughter, the only heir to the Foot clan. Donnie scrambled out of his seat in excitement and went to go tell Leo his plan.

&&&&&&

"No." Leo said flatly.

"What do you mean 'no'? It was dynamite!" Donnie said desperately.

"The Shredder knows we don't hold people hostage or kill anyone. Besides, the Shredder is willing to have anyone die as long as he gets what he wants." Leo said, frustration growing in his voice.

"But what else do we have? His lover is dead, Yoshi's dead and he wasn't a weakness anyway, Splinter's no good, what else have we got? Crash his computer system?" Donnie asked angrily.

Leo's eyes lit up hopefully. "That might just work. All of Shredder's plans and contacts are on there."

"I doubt he'd be stupid enough to not have back up files." Donnie said sarcastically.

Leo's face fell and he grew angry again. "There is no way we're stooping down to his level by holding a hostage!" Leo snapped, slamming a fist on the table.

'_Yeah, only because you have a huge crush on Karai.' _Donnie thought angrily.

Out loud he replied, "Well what do you want me to do? I don't have much to work with here!"

"You're a genius, I'm sure you can figure something out." Leo said bitterly.

Donnie sucked in a breath and his temper flared. "Just because you have to be perfect doesn't mean I have to be dragged right along with you!" Donnie shouted before spinning on his heel and wheeling out of the room.

Leo stared after him in shock. Donnie had never gotten that angry before, he had never even lost his temper like that before.

Leo buried his face in his hands.

'_I'm such an ass.' _

&&&&&&

Location: Apartment above "The Second Time Around" antique shop

"Hey Casey, pass me that plate will you?" April asked from the sink.

"No." Casey said jokingly as he leaned over her shoulder.

"Don't be an ass and just pass me the damn plate." April said with a grin.

"Fine, but it'll cost you." Casey said slyly as he spun her around to face him.

She smirked. "You're such a prude." She said, grabbing the plate from his hands.

"All right, all right, we'll save that for the honeymoon, but what would you rather do on such a boring night?"

"Watch an old western." April replied immediately.

Casey blinked. "OK, that was a little too quick…But I'll get the movie started…_**Babe.**_"

April kicked him playfully and they both grinned as they passed each other. That was now their official joke.

April finished the dishes quickly and walked into the living room. It was still odd to have Casey living in her apartment, even though he had been living with her for over two months now. It was still difficult for April to sleep in the same bed as him, or to get used to his annoying habits. Such as hogging the couch and the bed, throwing his stuff anywhere there was space, dealing with his constant temper, and him blasting his music and singing at an unnecessary loud level, that was torture enough, but Casey's singing was far worse. Somehow she was managing to deal with it bit by bit.

Now she had flopped down beside him and he instinctively wrapped his arm around her shoulder as she snuggled into him.

An hour later, April was half-asleep when she heard the sound of footsteps creeping up the stairs…Multiple footsteps.

April nudged Casey who really had fallen asleep. "Casey, did you hear that?" April whispered, her voice tight with fear.

"No." Casey said groggily.

April heard another group of footsteps that now seemed to be coming from the other side of the stairs. April hit Casey in the arm. "Listen."

Casey leaned forward and heard more footsteps. April must have heard it too, because she gripped his arm tightly. "Did you hear that?"

Casey stood up, and April followed him, still attached to his arm.

"Go into the bedroom." Casey said.

"But—" April began.

"Go." Casey said.

April bit her lip and complied.

Casey grabbed his baseball bat that sat beside the couch and cautiously approached the door where the footsteps seemed to be gathering. Casey took a deep breath and braced himself as he wrapped his fingers around the doorknob and slowly opened it…

&&&&&&

April paced the floor impatiently. She could hear the sounds of struggling and banging from the other side of the door coming from the living room.

"Come on Casey…" April asked edgily.

All of a sudden she heard a loud crash and instantly ran to the door and opened the door ajar to gaze through. About fifty foot ninjas had come crashing through the window and were forming a tight circle around Casey where he was trying to fight back the other fifty or more. April saw a glint of something metallic come from one of the foot ninjas that was remaining to the back of Casey, but she couldn't decipher what it was. Suddenly, there was a gunshot, and April covered her mouth as Casey fell to the floor, eyes glazed and unmoving, with no signs of breathing, and blood pooling around him.

April's eyes welled up with tears, and she slammed the door not caring if they heard or not. She ran to her drawer and fumbled around trying to find her cell phone, she knew there was no use in being discreet, they'd probably find her sooner or later and kill her anyway. She shakily dialed the phone number she had learned by heart and pressed herself against the door, using herself as a barrier. She knew she ought to call the police, but the police couldn't get involved in this sort of thing. She stared down at her engagement rind that glinted and she began to slowly break down.

'He's not here…He's not…Anywhere…Anymore…" 

"Hello?" A breathless voice asked on the other line after what seemed like an eternity.

April began to shake and she started to sob uncontrollably. "Donnie…Donnie…" She blubbered.

"April? What's the matter?" Donnie asked, his voice growing concerned.

April let out a shaky breath. "Casey…He's…He's not breathing…He's not…Waking up…He's not…_**Alive**_ anymore." April said, beginning to grow hysterical.

"April…Where are you?" Donnie asked, his voice growing dead serious.

April's head shot behind her as she felt them all banging on the door and trying to get in…They had found her…This was it…

"I…I have to go." April said, holding back a fresh round of tears.

"April! Wait! I'll come get you! Where are you? Apri—"

April hung up the phone and backed away from the door as more tears began to fall.

In seconds, the door was busted open and a group of foot ninjas fell in.

"Come and take me." April whispered as a wave of grief consumed her.

She heard the gunshot before she saw it, and all she felt was a sharp pain, and she began to gasp as the pain began to burn and become unbearable. She could taste the warm, metallic taste in her mouth, and feel a large rivulet of something dark and sticky running down from her chest. As the pain became unbearable, she collapsed onto the ground and writhed and convulsed in pain as she gazed up at the people clad in black, before her world went black forever.

&&&&&&

Whew! That took longer that the first one! Sorry if some parts are a little OOC. Please review so I can hear your comebacks, and if writing this chapter for about two and a half hours was really worthwhile!


	3. Loss

OK, a little forewarning, around chapter three this is when I really need advice to keep the story going. Any suggestions you may have, please feel free to offer them, I'm always willing to accept advice to help better improve my writing. And now, here's chapter three!

&&&&&&

Donnie shakily hung up the phone after hearing the dial tone. All ready he feared the worst, and so, a wave of fear washed over him as he tried to piece together everything April had just said. She must be at home, where else could she be?

Donnie turned back to his brothers who could sense the fear in his voice and throughout his body. All of them were watching him anxiously. They had heard the urgency in his voice when he had been talking to April and they were all waiting for a report.

"April…Something's wrong…She's in trouble…I think she's been hurt…Casey…Something's wrong." Donnie stammered as he still tried to put together the conversation.

Leo touched his shoulder. "We'll go up there right now…I'm sure everything's fine." Leo said, hoping he sounded more reassuring than he felt. His whole body had gone rigid, and he could tell by Donnie's body language that he knew that Leo was most likely lying. After all, Leo's family was one thing, but if April and Casey were to get hurt or killed, he could never forgive himself for putting their lives in such danger for him.

&&&&&&

Raph anxiously drove up to the apartment, praying desperately that his friends were fine, that the phone call had just been one big misunderstanding. He knew right now he was being a jerk, his brothers were just as worried as him, but he still put his feelings first. He glanced through the rearview mirror and saw Donnie gazing out the window, shaking nervously, while Leo was trying to comfort him. Mikey was sitting beside Raph, and he looked unnaturally serious. Raph even felt uncomfortable being near him. But he knew that that didn't matter right now, all that mattered was his friend's safety.

As Raph rounded the corner, he realized that all of his prayers were a lost hope. The fear and tension in the air was unbearable, and the apartment seemed to hang open like a gaping wound. Raph swallowed, hoping his brothers couldn't sense any of the fear that was wafting throughout his whole body. After all, the store had been trashed…Again. The door to the shop was forced open and hung off its hinges, and the windows in the apartment were broken, pieces of glass littering the sidewalk below. The only light in the whole building was from the living room of the apartment. As Raph continued to survey the building, the rest of his brothers had scrambled out of the car and were scouting the car for any unwanted enemies. Raph climbed out of the car shakily as his brothers began to make their way inside, none of them knowing what they might find.

&&&&&&

The four brothers climbed up the stairs that led to the apartment. There were more broken windows, and the floor appeared to be covered in glass. The door was splintered and it was completely off its hinges from the earlier battle. How long had that even been? Five, ten, fifteen minutes? And that was at the least. Raph could feel his rage begin to slowly consume him. Why hadn't anybody bothered to call the police? Typical New York, pedestrians only seemed to care about themselves. But really, it wouldn't have killed them to make a five-minute phone call stating that an apartment had broken into? Unless everybody were just a bunch of idiots and were completely oblivious.

They entered the apartment, still waiting for some sort of attack. Raph paled as Doonie knelt down beside the body of Casey Jones. He gingerly rolled him over onto his back and checked his pulse, and then checked for a heartbeat.

"…He's dead." Donnie said slowly.

Raph felt his legs begin to buckle as a wave of nausea began to take over. Dead? Casey Jones, his best friend, was dead? Raph was really starting to feel his anger take over full force as he kicked over the coffee table in frustration.

"Who the hell could have done this? Raph raged dangerously as he continued to knock everything over that stood in his way.

"Raph, you're temper isn't going to help anybody right now." Leo said as he checked the rest of the living room for any hint or clue to who the perpetrators could have been.

Raph whipped around. "I'm sorry I'm not perfect like you Leo, and I'm sorry that I'm not as unconcerned as you are about this whole thing. But, in case you may not have noticed, our friend is dead because we couldn't get here fast enough!" Raph thundered.

Leo ignored Raph and turned to the rest of his brothers. "Check the other rooms for anything else…Clues, enemies…April…"

Donnie gasped at the sound of her name, having completely forgotten about her, and hurried to the other parts of the apartment to look for her. Raph growled and followed Donnie.

Mikey walked over to Casey and noticed a gun lying nearby to his lifeless body. He gingerly picked it up and stared at it with a frown. He ran his thumb over the smooth metal until his thumb ran across a jagged, uneven part of the metal. He cautiously turned it over to inspect it and noticed the Foot emblem engraved into the side of the gun. He sucked in a breath and made his way down the stairs to the shop where Leo had gone to see if anything had been stolen, or if there was any type of clue down there. Mikey hesitantly handed the gun over to Leo who took it and noticed the symbol. Angrily, he threw the gun across the room where it hit a glass cabinet filled with porcelain.

"Fuck!" Leo thundered, slamming his fist down on a countertop.

"Leo…" Mikey said, timidly touching his shoulder, but Leo shook him off. Mikey was a little intimidated, having never seen this side of Leo's temper before.

"I screwed up again! Why the hell can't I do this?" Leo said angrily.

"You didn't know…" Mikey began.

"I should've known! I should've known the Shredder would go for them! I should've known this was his doing…Dammit!"

"Leo!" Raph shouted from the top of the stairs.

"Now what?" Leo hissed as he bound up the stairs to Raph, Mikey following close behind.

"We found April…She's alive…But barely…" Raph said breathlessly.

"Where is she?" Leo asked, trying not to panic.

Raph raced down the hall, leading Leo to April's bedroom where the door had been forced open.

April lay gasping on the floor, her eyes wide and unblinking as Donnie pressed hard on her wound with the sheets. All ready, blood was seeping through the white sheets and bubbling up between Donnie's fingers as he desperately tried to keep her alive.

Leo hurried forward, not caring if he was showing his panic. He couldn't lose April, not now…This wasn't happening to him. He knelt down beside her as she looked over at him, still breathing heavily.

"Leo…" She managed to gasp.

"Don' talk." Leo ordered.

April flinched and gave a sharp gasp. "My…Head…"

Leo looked at her confused, there was blood everywhere, mostly surrounding her middle as it ran down from her chest, and she was worried about her head?

Leo looked towards her head and could see blood seeping out through the back of her head. He gave a low moan as he saw the pool of blood surrounding her head. She must have hit it from the impact of when she hit the floor. Either that or she hit it on something on the way down.

"Leo? What do we do?" Donnie asked.

"Call an ambulance." Leo said immediately.

"But Leo…They can't know about this…Besides, they'll think we did it…It's not like they're going to believe a bunch of ninjas did this." Mikey said.

"Damn!" Leo muttered to himself.

April gasped again, as blood began to burble up in her throat.

Donnie's head snapped up. "Leo, you had better think of some sort of a plan pretty fast, because we're going to lose her pretty soon if you don't."

Leo bit his lip and thought. They couldn't call the police or the ambulance…The only option would be…

"We have to drive her to the hospital ourselves. Donnie doesn't have enough medical background to take care of this." Leo said.

"But…What about us?" Mikey asked.

"We have disguises for a reason." Raph said impatiently.

"But what do we tell them?" Donnie said, exasperated.

Leo bit his lip again and thought for another moment.

"We tell them…We tell them that…That we found her near the side of the highway, her car smashed into a tree. She had obviously lost control of her car, and had gone flying out of it. We brought her to the hospital because we knew that an ambulance wouldn't be able to get there in time." Leo said.

"But Leo…Won't they know that this isn't from a car? I mean, most people can't survive such an impact. Do you really think a doctor would buy that?" Donnie said.

"Have you ever heard of miracles?" Raph shot back as Leo glared at Donnie.

"It's the only option we have isn't it?" Leo snapped.

Donnie sighed. "Fine…But don't get mad if the plan doesn't work.

&&&&&&

A couple of hours later, they were able to see April, receiving a warning that she was very fragile and she might not remember a few things. The guys had just shook him off. Donnie was still in shock that their plan had actually worked.

Raph had made an anonymous phone call to the police about Casey, and by now they had his body and his family had been notified. They had spent the last few hours, but they were still relieved that they had rescued April.

…Or not…

Donnie was the first to enter the room. April was hooked up to a breathing mask and an IV, her head and chest bandaged. She looked towards him with a blank expression. Donnie figured that it was just the anesthesia beginning to wear off and he approached the side of her bed.

"April? How are you feeling?" He asked, excitement filling his voice.

April furrowed her eyebrows, and continued to study him. "Do I know you?"

Donnie's face fell. "April…You remember me. Donnie? The smart turtle in the group?"

"Turtle…?" April asked, confusion clouding her eyes.

"April…I'm a turtle…," Donnie said, hoping they could come to some sort of an understanding.

April grinned at him. "Silly…Turtles can't talk."

Leo frowned. "April? You can see us right?"

"Of course I can see you."

"Then you know we're not human?" Leo asked.

"I can see you're not human…But I know you're not turtles either. Turtles don't talk." April repeated.

Mikey was beginning to shake. "Then what do you think we are?" He asked weakly.

April shrugged. "I don't know. I've been seeing a lot of strange things today. Did you know that walls could talk? So can colors. Blue was talking to me…He was pretty sad…I don't know why…I can't remember…Do colors talk to you?" April babbled.

"Jeez…She hit her head pretty hard." Raph said quietly.

"She can't remember us…Her mind's all jumbled up…" Mikey said.

"April…What's the last thing you remember?" Donnie asked, not wanting to give up on her, he didn't want to lose her mentally.

April frowned. "Hmmm…Oh! I know! I was at home and Daddy had just brought home the dress I asked him to buy me for prom."

Donnie's heart began to shatter. Not only could she not remember them, but she also didn't know how old she was. She thought she was an eighteen-year-old girl still living in California. (AN: I read somewhere that that's where April grew up.)

"Well…We better go…It's getting late." Leo said, beginning to grow uncomfortable. He had to practically drag Don away from April's side.

"OK, it was nice talking to you!" April said with a grin.

Leo gave a small smile as they all exited the room. Donnie collapsed into a chair and buried his face in his hands and began talking to himself. Raph slammed his fist into the wall and began to swear. Mikey began to silently cry. They had lost two friends in one night, in more ways than one.

"Leo…?" Mikey asked meekly.

"What Mike?" Leo asked, pinching the space between his eyes.

"Can we stop fighting now?" Mikey asked.

&&&&&&

"Master Shredder…We have a report." Hun said from the doorway to Shredder's 'office'.

"Go on." Shredder said.

Hun cleared his throat. "Plans did not go quite the way we had planned, but everything evened out in the end, master. Casey Jones is dead, and April is going to be sent to a clinic after her recovery in the hospital. Her memory is completely erased from when she hit her head back in her apartment. We are now awaiting your orders." Hun finished.

"Hmmm…If she is in a clinic she might remember the turtles…But it should be no matter because they shall be dead…Attack the turtles and bring them to me. I want them alive." Shredder said.

"Of course Master." Hun said with a bow before disappearing.

Shredder smiled to himself. The turtles' end was nearing. Agent Bishop had a nice room set up for them at Area 51 and another round of Foot ninjas was setting off to take care of Splinter. It wouldn't be long now before the turtles would be in his hands and he could crush them in his grip as he ruled the universe. And this time…He would strike with no mercy.

&&&&&&

OK, I'm sure the part with April was most likely impossible, but I didn't want to kill her off, but I didn't want her involved with the turtles either, so I decided she could lose her memory. Anyway, I hope this chapter wasn't awful! Thanks for reading! Suggestions are still welcome!


	4. Attack

Here's Chapter 4! Thanks to TheIncredibleDancingBetty for ideas and to Leo Oneal for the wonderful support of this story. A little note that updates may become less frequent because of upcoming end-of-school activities, and also due to the fact that I have to begin counseling soon. Anyway, read and enjoy!

&&&&&&

Location: New York City Sewer Systems

Splinter's tail thrashed across the cement floor irritably as he waited for his sons' return from patrol topside. It wasn't that he was angry with his sons, he was just worried seeing as they hadn't kept in touch with him, and he was beginning to feel on edge.

It had been three days since Casey's death and April's hospitalization into the mental clinic, and Leo had completely gone over the top with training. As much as Splinter realized how important training was, he also knew that there should be some time for mourning. And even though he had tried to explain this to his eldest son, Leo would hear nothing of it. He had insisted on training and had therefore dragged his brothers along with him.

Just as Splinter was about to make an attempt at calling his sons' on the ever-irritating shell cell, the four brothers entered the lair.

Splinters fur bristled and stood on end. Something was wrong. Leo looked completely furious, and Donnie and Raph were trying to remain calm, although their panic was inevitable.

"What happened?" Splinter demanded.

"There were no problems tonight. Not even a drug ring or a gang fight." Leo hissed; his fists clenched at his sides.

Splinter looked between the four turtles waiting for a further explanation. There were no way his sons could be this upset over there being no action. It may be suspicious, but it was better than danger.

Donnie cleared his throat and shifted from foot to foot uneasily. "We did some further scouting and found the reason for the lack of activity. Shredder has created an underground ring. He's assembled every single gang of New York and has had them working undercover, most likely to find us. There are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people underground from the Purple Dragons and the Mob scouting the sewer systems. Above ground the Foot are going through intense training. Surprisingly, there have been no sightings of Karai or the Shredder himself. However, Stockman and Bishop seem to be conducting some sort of intergalactic communication system along with what appears to be some sort of intergalactic air base. More likely than not, the city of New York is going to have some real company that are out of this world." Donnie concluded, his eyes shifting nervously to a seething Leo.

Splinter looked towards Leo who began shaking with anger. "What troubles you my son?"

"Again…This is the second time we've been forced to leave our home due to the Shredder. There's no way we can go. April and Casey are gone, and even if they were here we couldn't jeopardize their lives again, and we can't go to another dimension because that's just cowardly. At the same time, we can't take down almost the whole entire population of New York who are all looking for us, and even if by some miracle we can manage to do that, we're just going to be getting people from other planets with new weaknesses and strategies. So, no matter which way you look at it, we lose…we can't win…We fail!" Leo thundered.

Splinter placed a hand on Leo's shoulder in a claming gesture. "Leonardo, you must be strong, you cannot lose your control due to what the Shredder is planning. Perhaps this is a sign that we shouldn't run."

Leo's eyes widened as Raph and Donnie exchanged looks. "What do you mean sensei, you want us to _die_?" Leo said in disbelief.

Splinter shook his head. "I did not mention death Leonardo, but perhaps it is best that we face our enemies and our fears instead of running away, because do we not appear more cowardly that way? And aren't we just putting more lives in danger by running away?"

Leo sighed and closed his eyes. "I am not sure if I agree with you entirely sensei, but I will respect your decision. We will remain where we are…Don…Try to see if you can hack into the Shredder's computer to see if there are any plans in there that might be able to help us defeat him."

Don gaped at him. "But…But Leo only April knew how to do that and plus we don't know if their security has been changed and I have no access to any of that without A—"

"APRIL'S NOT HERE IS SHE? You can figure it out by yourself, you don't need April to help you all the time!" Leo snapped.

Donnie's jaw set in an angry frown before he stormed off to his lab mumbling all the way. Leo gave out a huff of anger before going off to his room to practice some sparring alone.

Splinter frowned as he turned to face Raph who was trying to inch his way towards his punching bag. "Raphael…"

Raph stopped and turned around slowly. "Yes, sensei?"

"Where is your other brother, Michelangelo?" Splinter asked.

Raph looked around. "Huh…He must still be in the Battle Shell." Raph shrugged before walking away again.

Splinter gave out a sigh of frustration and went to speak to his youngest son.

&&&&&&

As Splinter neared the garage, sure enough, he found Mikey sitting in the Battle Shell with his arms crossed and his mouth set in a hard line.

"Michelangelo, please step out of the truck this instant." Splinter commanded.

Mikey glowered at Splinter and rolled down the window. "I'm good here." He said coolly as he turned his gaze straight ahead.

"You show much disrespect towards me my son." Splinter said.

"I thought we came to a mutual understanding that you hate me and vice versa." Mikey said with a sneer.

Splinter was shocked for a moment. Mutual understanding? How could his son even think that his own father hated him?

"My son…I would never think of something like that…" Splinter trailed off as he reached for Mikey's arm, but he pulled away.

"My son…Please…"

Mikey's head whipped around, his eyes glittering with anger.

"Don't give me that crap. Why the hell do you think I've been avoiding you?" Mikey spat.

Splinter's eyes filled with hurt as he gazed at his son. What had happened to him? When had such anger consumed him?

"Michelangelo…I want to understand you…Please tell me what is troubling you."

"We're done with understanding each other sensei. I realized that years ago. You and I may be father and son but we are two very different people, and we will never have a loving relationship."

And with that, Mikey got out of the opposite side of the truck and disappeared into the shadows, leaving a very hurt and rejected father in his wake.

&&&&&&

When Mikey returned to the lair hours later, Raph jumped from the shadows and slammed Mikey into the wall of the living room and pinned him there.

"What the hell did you do to Master Splinter?"

Mikey glared at him. "Why do you care?"

Raph glared back. "I care because that's my father. I don't know what you said to him but he's been pretty upset, and when Splinter's upset the person responsible is going to pay." Raph said, slamming his fist a few inches from Mikey's head.

Mikey gave out a bitter laugh. "Oh that's rich. You care about your father but not about your brothers right?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Raph hissed as he got right up in Mikey's face.

"Think about it Raph. Leo was depressed for one year, practically on the verge of suicidal and you never did anything about that. But just because I said a few hurtful words to Splinter you jump down my throat? Where the hell were you when Leo needed you the most?"

Raph slammed Mikey into the wall again and lowered his voice in anger. "I care more about this family than you'll ever know. You don't know anything about what happened between Leo and I when he was depressed. You're not me, so you don't know what I was thinking or how worried I was. Maybe I didn't do all that I could have, but damn it I sure as hell tried. You ever try to challenge my feelings about this family again and you're really going to get it."

Mikey threw Raph's hands off of him. "Don't worry Raph, I'm not worried. Splinter's never been a real father to me anyway. You want to know why? Because I have never been wanted in this family. Sure, you can deny it, but you know I'm right." Mikey shoved past Raph and made his way up the stairs.

Then, Mikey stopped and turned back to face Raph. "Oh, and Raph, just so you know…I'm not a little kid anymore, and I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself now."

Before Raph could even protest, Mikey slammed the door to his room.

"What was that all about?"

Raph jumped and whipped around, sais at the ready, to face Donnie.

Raph growled and lowered his sais. "I don't know what the hell is going on with Mikey, but I am really getting sick of this crappy attitude he's developed lately."

Donnie raised an eyebrow. "Did you figure out what he said to sensei?"

Raph shook his head and rubbed his temples.

Donnie nodded. "I didn't think you'd get an answer that way. Don't push it…Just leave him alone to cool off. You know Mikey, he'll eventually apologize and explain himself."

Raph shook his head. "I'm not so sure about that this time…"

Donnie lowered his gaze. "Do you think he meant what he said?" He asked softly.

Raph looked at Donnie in surprise. "You heard that?"

"The ending, yeah."

Raph rubbed the back of his neck and gave out a heavy sigh. "I don't know if he meant it or not. It could be he's just lashing out. I think everything that's been going on might have gotten to him. If he did mean it, then, I don't know where he got that idea from."

"I wouldn't question it." Donnie warned.

"I wasn't planning to!" Raph snapped.

"No, but you were thinking it."

Raph remained silent as Donnie came up beside him and looked up towards Mikey's room.

"You know…He just hides it right?" Donnie asked, his eyes softening.

"What do you mean? Hiding what?" Raph asked, following Donnie's gaze.

"Mikey may appear unintelligent and he may goof off and make stupid jokes…But it's all a mask. He hides his true feelings because he's worried what we would think of him. Maybe that's what he meant by his statement, who's to really say?" Donnie said.

"How'd you even know that?" Raph asked curiously.

Donnie shrugged. "I can just tell."

Raph remained silent as he thought about what Donnie had said. Was it possibl he was right?

"I better get back to work." Donnie said as he left his brother alone with his thoughts.

&&&&&&

Donnie sat at his computer and tapped his pencil irritably on the desk as he stared at the screen blankly. His eyes flicked to the picture of him and April before quickly flicking back to the screen. He couldn't do this…He had no idea how to do this. And he hated it when he didn't know how to do something.

Donnie wracked his brain trying to remember what April had done when she had gotten into the system the first place. Everything was coming up blank.

Just as Donnie was about to try something else, he heard a sound of movement coming from the entrance to the lair.

Donnie swiveled his chair around.

"Is someone there?"

No answer.

Cautiously Donnie stood out of his seat and began to edge his way towards the sound.

"Mikey? Raph? Is that you?"

Cautiously, Donnie removed his bow staff and raised it behind his head. Maybe it wasn't the most tactful way to attack a possible intruder, but at least the blow would stun him.

"Very funny guys, you can come out now." Donnie said, hoping to reassure himself.

Donnie fumbled around until he found the light switch, and with relief, he flicked on the lights.

Donnie nearly choked on his own saliva. Out of all the possible intruders he could think of, he had never expected this. Every single member of the Purple Dragons was entering through the entrance. Donnie turned his head to see the Mob grinning at him with guns at the ready.

"LEO!" Donnie shouted as a Purple Dragon grabbed him and flung him into a wall.

Leo ran out of his room, katanas at the ready, and almost dropped him at the sight before him. Mikey and Raph ran out after him and they also froze.

Leo grunted and charged towards them. Splinter was all ready out there trying to fight back a group of Purple Dragons while Donnie was fighting off the Mob.

"I don't know how you guys found us or how you even managed to get in, but I sure know how you're getting out!" Raph yelled, ramming his sais into two oncoming Purple Dragons.

"Don't you guys know trespassing is a crime and that there's a serious butt whooping for it?" Mikey asked as he took out four Purple Dragons with his nunchucks.

Leo ran to help Splinter who was attacking the Purple Dragons with his cane. Leo rammed three of them through with his swords and moved on to the next batch.

"Is it just me? Or is the crowd getting smaller?" Mikey called.

Suddenly, the door was broken down as more members of the Mob and the Purple Dragons ran in. Donnie looked like he was about to strangle Mikey with that last comment.

"Never mind!" Mikey called.

"Idiot…" Raph muttered as he took on ten Purple Dragons.

"There's too many of them! What do we do?" Donnie shouted over to Leo as he struggled to keep a Purple Dragon off of him with his bo staff.

Before Leo could reply a wave of smoke enveloped the lair.

"Now what?" Raph said, exasperated.

The smoke cleared revealing the Foot Elite. Leo's eyes widened as he threw a group of Purple Dragons off of him.

Before Leo could move towards him, one of the Elite threw an explosive towards Raph who was too involved with the Mob to notice.

"RAPH! LOOK OUT!" Leo shouted.

It was too late; the explosive went off, taking down that whole part of the lair.

Mikey was hit from behind and slumped to the ground, as Donnie was struck hard in the face, causing him to stumble backwards and smash his head on the wall.

Leo could feel panic advancing on him as the Foot Elite approached him. The first thing he thought of was Splinter and he shoved him out of the way as the Foot Elite brought something hard on his head, and that was when he lost all consciousness.

&&&&&&

OK, you'll have to see where they end up in the next chapter, and that's when you'll find out how 'Confessions' got its name. Sorry that Mikey was OOC, but that was kind of the whole point. I'm sorry if the battle scene wasn't the best either, but I'm not every good with those. Anyway, please REVIEW!


	5. Captives

Here's Chapter 5; I don't know how great this chapter is going to be because of various problems that have been going on recently, so I sort of have that on my mind. I was happy to receive reviews from two new readers/reviews. Keep them coming guys!

&&&&&&

Agent Bishop stormed into his communication net work. What in God's name did the Shredder want now? He had retrieved the turtles for his sick plan, what more did he want from him?

"Yes?" Bishop said exasperatedly.

Shredder gave him a pointed look through the video screen.

Bishop swallowed. "…Master…," Bishop said with a grimace.

As far as Bishop was concerned he was his own master, but as for his current situation, that wasn't his option.

Shredder cleared his throat. "Very good. I was about to assume that you had forgotten our little deal. Now then, do you have possession of the turtles?"

"I sent you a report saying that I did…Master." Bishop said, all ready beginning to lose his patience with this… abomination.

"Excellent. We shall move into phase two. Do you have the containment centers available?" Shredder asked, somewhat eagerly.

Bishop sighed angrily. "Yes, of course. Although you have failed to tell me what to install into them Master."

"Install?"

Bishop sucked in his breath, trying to control his temper. "Yes. I understand that you want the turtles _contained_, hence for the name '_containment center_'. What I want to know, is do you want me to install drugs, weapons, things of that nature."

"…The containment centers are all in large rooms, correct?"

"As you asked…Master."

"Then, Agent Bishop, are you familiar with holograms?"

"I'm not quite sure what you're implying Shredder, but I can assure you that I am very familiar with holograms along with their meaning."

Shredder glowered at him. "I was questioning you Agent Bishop to ask if you knew how to create holographic images from the mind of another. In other words, could you somehow manage to create holographic simulators based on the turtles' minds."

"Meaning you want me to produce their worst fears and enemies?" Agent Bishop clarified.

"Correct, I suppose you are more intelligent than I took credit for."

Agent Bishop glowered at him, and would've come back with a retort. Instead, he simply replied, "I will begin working with that immediately Master, and I will get back to you with an update as soon as possible." And with that, Agent Bishop clicked off his end of his video com. Link and stormed out of the room.

"Idiot…" He muttered under his breath.

How dare the Shredder, of all people, question his intelligence? He created more advanced technology than some of the ootroms, or at least the same amount of technology that is. He knew most about advanced alien technology because he had spent his whole life working with them. And the Shredder, was just another annoying pain in his side along with all his other experiments and projects.

He could still remember when he had foolishly fallen into the Shredder's trap.

The Shredder had wished to speak to him over the com. Link, and although Bishop wanted nothing to do with the Shredder, his curiosity got the better of him, and he went to speak with him. The Shredder gave him an offer he couldn't pass up. He had offered him a year to study the ways of life of the ootroms in exchange for a small favor of capturing the turtles for him. At first, Bishop had not agreed to this. The ootroms, although they were interesting and he had been tempted to study their lives, were useless to him compared to other life forms that Shredder could offer him. It was then that the Shredder told him that he would not only grant him accesses to the ootroms, he would also grant him a fair share of money in order to expand his operation. Along with that, he would give him a permanent body fifty percent stronger and more intelligent than his old body without having to switch to a new body every few months.

Bishop had considered this carefully. He had no reason to trust the Shredder, but he knew that the Shredder was capable of many impossible challenges. He also knew that if he captured the turtles, that would finally give him a chance to test them, and with the expansion of his operation, he could have unlimited control over most of the universe, even the galaxy.

Bishop had agreed to the 'deal', as the Shredder liked to call it. Shredder also requested that Bishop call him 'master' like his other employees. Bishop reluctantly agreed to that. Before they finished their conversation, the Shredder had also told him that he wanted Bishop to hold the turtles in containment centers anywhere from days to years until the Shredder was ready to deal with him. He only seemed to stress that the turtles be weakened before being brought to him.

The question then arose about the rat. Shredder had simply laughed and requested that the rat be brought to him while the turtles were in Bishop's hands.

And here Bishop was, he had agreed to every request, had fulfilled every one, and he had received nothing in return from his boss/enemy. Perhaps this was just another minor annoyance; at least he still had the freedom to examine the turtles as he pleased.

And with that last thought, Bishop went off to work on the final touches of the containment centers.

&&&&&&

Leo gave out a low groan and rolled his head around. His head felt as if it had been filled with lead. It seemed to be a struggle to lift his head, let alone open his eyes.

It took a few struggling moments for Leo to complete these two minor tasks. Once that was complete, he allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Once his eyes had adjusted, he instantly stiffened and glanced around the room. He wasn't at home. He was in a cell, there didn't appear to be any doors. If there were, Leo couldn't see them; they were most likely built in the walls. And, given from the aura the cell was giving off, the door probably only opened from the outside anyway, and was probably locked as well. Leo began to feel a bubble of hysteria forming in his throat. He didn't know where he was, or how exactly how he was going to get out. He had no way of knowing if he would survive of not, after all, he didn't know if his captors would give him food or not. Let alone, who knew how good the air was in here, seeing as he couldn't see any type of ventilation system within the room.

On closer inspection, Leo noticed his brothers sprawled out in other parts of the dark room. And he began to wonder if they were dead…Or if he was instead.

Leo cautiously tried to stand up, but his legs screamed in protest at the effort. Leo rolled on to his side instead and began to slowly crawl towards one of his brothers on his left. His knees ached, but he didn't care. Once he reached his destination, he realized it was Donnie he had approached. He reached over what he hoped was his unconscious brother and checked for his pulse. Sure enough, there was one. It wasn't strong, but it wasn't weak either.

Leo gave out a slight laugh in relief as his brother groaned and stirred.

"My head…" Donnie muttered, as he rubbed the back of his head slowly.

"…_My…Head…" _

Leo shuddered as April's voice rang through his head.

"Are you all right Don?" Leo asked, stiffly.

Donnie squinted his eyes at Leo for a moment, as if trying to place who he was, before recognition crossed his features. "Leo? Where are we?"

Leo bit his lip and closed his eyes for a minute. Failure… "I…I don't know Don." He replied, shaking his head.

Donnie gave out a slight chuckle. "Figures…We never know where we are."

Leo had to grin at that. And for a moment, the two siblings sat in silence, remember last night's events, and how they could've gotten here.

"…How's your head?" Leo asked, beginning to grow uncomfortable with the growing silence.

Donnie responded with a sheepish grin. "I've been through worse. I just have a bump the size of two goose eggs, but other than that, I'm okay. As long as I'm not bleeding, I should be fine."

Leo nodded. "I'll go check on the others."

Donnie nodded as he struggled to lift himself into a sitting position with his elbows.

Leo, once again, tried to stand, but his legs still protested. He muttered a curse beneath his breath before crawling over to his other two siblings.

From behind him, he heard a thud followed by a sigh of defeat. Looked like Don was in the same position he was in.

Leo crawled over and awakened the other two, who were just as sore as he was.

It was as the brothers sat in silence trying to think of a way out, that Mikey brought up something the rest seemed to forget.

"Um…Where're our weapons?"

Leo's eyes widened as he glanced furtively around the room. Mikey was right, their weapons, their one defense against their still unknown enemy, were gone.

"Sensei…" Leo trailed off as he also realized his beloved master was missing from the group as well.

Raph gave out a grunt. "Figures Mike wouldn't care about him missing…"

Mikey shot him a glare that clearly stated that now was not the time.

Raph, in return, raised his eyebrows in a manner that said he was going to push their earlier conversation. "Not that it matters, Mikey probably wouldn't care if he was by himself because we don't love him anyway."

Leo was pulled out of his reverie with that statement. He glanced up sharply. "What?" He asked, his eyes narrowing.

Donnie glanced nervously at Leo, and then at Mikey. From the looks of it, Mikey wanted to kill Raph, and Leo wanted to kill Mikey. Donnie gave Raph a pleading look, but Raph simply rested his chin in his hand and got ready to enjoy the show.

"That's right. According to Mikey, he's not one with the family."

"How can you even think something like that?" Leo hissed dangerously.

Mikey began to get defensive. "It was nothing, I was just angry the other night and I said a few things that I shouldn't have said. None of them were true."

"Liar." Raph responded.

"Shut up!" Mikey snapped.

"Wow, you got me there Mike." Raph said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.

"Raph…" Donnie said warningly.

"You must have meant something by it, or you wouldn't have said it." Leo said darkly.

Mikey's eyes narrowed. "I'm just never going to be good enough for you am I Leo?" He shouted.

That certainly got everyone to shut up real fast.

"What…Do you mean?" Leo asked.

"I just can't do anything right for you or for Splinter. I said some things and everyone has to get back at me for it and demand for an explanation because I, once again, said the wrong thing!"

There was stunned silence among the group as Mikey's words sunk in.

Leo had stiffened and turned his head away from Mikey. His words had stung, but worst of all he had been referred to along with Splinter…Again.

"Thanks a shit load Raph." Mikey muttered under his breath.

Raph just stared back at him in shock while Donnie tried to make some sort of a piece offering for his brothers.

Before he could come back with anything, there was a sudden blinding white light that took several minutes for the four terrapins to grow used to.

In the light, was none other than Agent Bishop.

Leo's eyes narrowed, and he gave out a slight growl. "I should've known you were behind this." He hissed menacingly. He instinctively reached for his katanas, before remembering they weren't there. Bishop had them right where he wanted them.

Bishop smirked at the blue-banded turtle's error before addressing the whole group. "We meet again it appears," He began monotonously. As if that statement wasn't obvious enough, "it's quite unfortunate that I inform you that you will not be leaving for quite a while."

"Where is Splinter?" Leo demanded.

Bishop rolled his eyes. "That I cannot say. But I can tell you, that I do not know how long you will be staying here for, but I can tell you that you will endure a great amount of pain and suffering. "

Gee, thanks for the warning.

Leo growled. "You don't know when we'll be free? That either means we're staying her forever or you're working for someone! I'm leaning towards the first one!"

Bishop raised his eyebrows at this. He figured Leo would've figured the opposite. It didn't matter, he'd figure it out eventually he supposed. Until then, he had to play along.

"Ah, Leonardo. How long is forever really?"

Before Leo could respond, Bishop had slammed the door shut. Leo was beginning to ponder over what Bishop had said. Hadn't the Foot attacked them? So, did that mean that Bishop was controlling the Foot now? That was doubtful. So that must mean that he was working for somebody. Which most likely meant the Shredder. But didn't the two of them hate each other? After all, Bishop had been trying to prevent Shredder's ship from launching into space as well…Leo's head began to spin. He couldn't concentrate with that incessant beeping.

Wait…Beeping?

Suddenly, Mikey gave out a cry as a huge explosion occurred, ricocheting off the walls and causing the whole room to shake. Leo tried to dive for cover, knowing what little good that would do.

It was true; Bishop was trying to kill them.

Before Leo could even comprehend this thought, a sharp pain hit his head and he was plunged into darkness.

&&&&&&

Bishop gave out a bored sigh as his officers reported that his missile had worked. Of course it worked, he wasn't one to make stupid immobile explosives.

And, with the release of the missile, it had also released four tiny microchips that were implanted into the turtles' brains. Bishop had complete access to their minds, and if he wanted to, he could even control them. He'd have to worry about that later…He had a task to complete.

Bishop began to look through the files that microchips were coming up with as they scanned their brains, and Bishop began to grin.

"Interesting…Very interesting…"

Shredder would be quite pleased with his findings.

&&&&&&

A nurse walked down the white hallways and approached the front desk and placed down the folder.

"Here's all the information." The woman replied breathlessly.

The secretary glanced up from her computer and grinned. "Good, how is she?"

The nurse hesitated and glanced down the hall before leaning forward and lowering her voice. "The poor thing is completely delusional. She went into a fifteen minute fit about wanting ice cream before refusing to speak to me. I tell you, that woman is going to be in here for a looonnnnggg time. "

The secretary shook her head sadly with a sigh. "The poor thing. What caused her to be like that again?"

The nurse shrugged. "The doctors aren't sure. They've done some x-rays and found a severe head injury. She may have been in an accident, or she may have fallen down a flight of stairs or something. They just know she hit her head pretty hard. In my opinion, I wouldn't be surprised if she was some sort of drug addict."

"My bet is on LSD." The secretary murmured.

The nurse nodded in agreement. "My exact thoughts. I do feel bad; she seemed so intelligent before her unfortunate accident. I've seen her on the news a few times. She was a scientist. I think she was also promoting some sort of Peace Corps or something like that. It's quite a shame. What a terrible mind to waste."

As the two women nodded sadly, it was just down the hall where their patient was occupying.

April O'Neil sat in her white room. She was completely shut off from the outside world, and everything around here was white. How were people expected to become sane from everything that was all white? What if someone had a phobia against the color white?

April bit her lip. She just wanted to go home. She didn't like it here. The walls were padded, and she couldn't see anything out the windows because they were barred or blocked. How boring. Once her father found out about this, he was going to be mad. The nurses were too mean to her; they shouldn't be mean to her. After all, she was only seven.

April closed her eyes tightly. No, that wasn't right. She didn't feel or look seven. At least she didn't think she did. She didn't know. She couldn't remember.

She gripped the flat metal between her frail hands. Someone had left this for her as a gift. She knew it wasn't from her father or mother. They hadn't even come to visit her, neither had this person. At least she didn't think he…Or she did. But she was almost positive it was a male. Why did she think that? Oh well, she could always think about that later…

And with that, April's mind was lost. But she still clutched the 'gift' that had been left for her.

For there, clutched in April's hands, was a shuriken.

&&&&&&

"Master Shredder…What do wish for us to do with the rat?" A foot ninja asked as he entered the office.

Shredder gripped his desk, waiting for Karai's report of his allies. He was in no mood to deal with such a petty nuisance at the moment. After all, he had far more…galactic matters to worry about at the moment. Besides, he was going to finish the rat eventually, might as well do it now.

"Kill him." Shredder replied irritably with a wave of his hand.

"As you wish Master." The foot ninja replied with a bow and disappeared into the shadows to follow his Master's orders.

&&&&&&

That's done! Please review and let me know what you think!


	6. First Test, First Victim

I am so sorry for the wait! I've been away/working for most of the summer. This chapter might not be as good as the others because I've been so busy I really didn't put too much thought into it. I promise it'll be better though! Anyway, usual rule: Review or I take it off. I need suggestions or comments to keep this story strong!

&&&&&&

Splinter awoke to find himself in what he could only describe as a dungeon. The walls were made of concrete, and the air smelt musty ands felt dank. Splinter would have explored his prison further if it weren't for the fact that he was chained to the walls. It also worried him that he was not with his sons. What troubled him even more was the fact that he could not contact them through their telepathic link. The rodent would be in a karmic state for hours, but he could not find his sons. All that came to him were foggy shadows. What was worse was that Splinter did not even know where he was, and therefore he did not know how far away he was from his sons.

As time passed, Splinter began to fell weaker and weaker with heavy despair. Without having any contact with his sons, they could be as good as dead. Splinter had had little food and very little sleep; it was impossible to determine how much time he had spent in this prison.

As Splinter began to ponder over his sons and who could've been able to break their link, he began to feel a presence lurking in the darkness. The rat stiffened and waited for the figure to show himself.

Cautiously, a young foot ninja approached the rat, appearing no older than his sons. The boy also appeared to be new at this. He was trembling from head to toe, and was holding a katana sword in his two hands in a very unprofessional manner.

The boy slowly approached the rat and just watched him. It was obvious the boy was frightened. Curiosity got the better of Splinter and he asked the most obvious question he could think of:

"Do you even know who I am?"

The boy jumped back obviously startled that he could speak. It was definitely apparent that the boy had never battled them before.

"Y-y-es. You are- are the- the enemy of Master Sh-Shredder." The boy stammered, taking a few steps back from the mutant.

Splinter studied the boy. "If you know nothing about me, then how will you know I cannot attack you? If you have never seen me, then why must you kill me?"

The boy gulped. "Because-Because I need to be tested-This is my test to become a full-fledged ninja."

Splinter's eyes softened, he pitied the boy for being so misguided. "Why do you wish to kill people? You do not appear as a cold-blooded murder."

"My- my family has no money. I started off as a Purple Dragon, and now I've been promoted to Foot Ninja. It puts food and money on the table." The boy stammered.

Splinter nodded in understanding. "I know what it is like to have nothing. But there is always a better way out than crime. You have a choice to turn back, to start over."

The boy bit his lip. "I cant- They'd kill me."

"Please…Allow me to help you. I can show you a better life, if you let me." Splinter pleaded his voice heavy with fatigue.

"I can't." The boy said, shaking his head violently.

"Please…There is always a choice." Splinter whispered.

The boy's eyes hardened and he raised the sword over his head that would deliver a finishing blow to Splinter's head.

"Not for me there isn't."

&&&&&&

Raph awoke with a groan. He couldn't believe Bishop was holding them as prisoners. What had they ever really done to him? For once, Raph just wanted to wake up to the life he had as a kid. Where there was no fighting, no worries that they could be ambushed, never worrying about the enemies…Just…Carefree. Even if it were just for a day, that would mean the world to the red clad turtle. He wished for it all to be a dream, but he knew that none of it was.

Raph started as he heard the sound of movement behind him. He whipped around to see Mikey pulling himself into a sitting position.

"You okay? Raph asked, as he noticed Mikey rubbing the back of his neck.

Mikey glared at him and turned his head away.

"Listen Mike, I know you're mad at me…But you gotta try to forget about it all right? I mean…We gotta stick together. And besides, it wasn't like I did anything that bad."

Mikey snapped his head around. His eyes burning. "Right Raph, you just revealed to our depressed brother that I think he hates me after all he's done for us, which I'm sure just made him feel worse than he all ready does. Other than that, you haven't screwed one thing up." Mikey said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Raph rolled his eyes. "Listen, I don't know what's with your attitude lately, but obviously there's a lot of stuff going on inside your head. Why won't you just let me in?"

"Because maybe I don't _want_ anybody to be let in!" Mikey snapped.

"But why not? Who's it going to hurt?" Raph asked.

"Everybody." Mikey muttered before going to stand in a corner.

"What makes you think its going to hurt me?" Raph asked suspiciously.

"Look, either somebody's going to be hurt or pissed, either way there are some things that should just be left alone and to yourself." Mikey announced.

"And sometimes things have to be said before you decide to do something you'll regret." Raph said, looking over at Leo.

Mikey, instead of replying, glared down at Donnie who was faking unconsciousness to avoid the growing argument.

"I mean, you don't want to end up like…Like _him_ do you?" Raph asked nervously.

"To each his own Raph." Mikey said with a sigh.

Raph's eyes widened. "Are you suicidal?"

"No!" Mikey shouted.

"So then you're saying it's okay for our brother to be thinking of suicide then?" Raph asked pointedly.

"After what he's been through? Yeah, I think it's pretty much normal." Mikey said.

Donnie flinched. He couldn't tell if Mikey was being sarcastic or not, but he knew that the fight would only escalate from here on out. _'Think happy thoughts Donnie, happy thoughts…'_

"Normal?" Raph thundered. "What the hell is wrong with you? I don't even know who you are anymore! It's like you're not my brother or something!"

'_Oh Mister Sun, Sun, Mister golden sun, please shine down on me…'_ Donnie sang in his head.

"Because I'm not!" Mikey snapped back.

'_Fuck!' _Donnie thought as the silence began to mount.

"You want to know what shell-for-brains? That's fine with me, you're on your own!" Raph snapped before turning around on his heel and storming off to the opposite side of the room.

Donnie slowly sat up and grinned sheepishly up at Mikey.

"Thanks genius, great way to help a brother out." Mikey said before also storming away.

Donnie ignored him and decided to go over to Raph first.

He approached him and sat down beside him. "He didn't mean it you know." He said softly.

Raph rubbed the back of his neck. "I know. It's just…That really h-Bugged me…You know?"

Donnie nodded. "But, you have to remember, you were asking for it a little bit." He pointed out.

"I know. It's just…After everything that went down with Leo he just became so…Quiet I guess. He just had all of this anger inside of him. And he began building this wall and…"

"Mikey always had a wall Raph. You just never got close enough to see it." Donnie said.

Raph looked at him in surprise, before deciding to keep silent.

"I think part of it was losing April and Casey…Both in different ways. I think it's just that everyone's all tensed up and afraid of what's going to happen next. But…You shouldn't get too hung up with Mikey. After all…We all have different ways of dealing with grief."

Raph glanced at his younger brother and noticed that his eyes were beginning to smolder.

"You really loved April didn't you?" He asked softly.

Donnie chuckled. "Was I that obvious?"

Raph smirked. "Just a little."

"I guess in truth…I did love April. I don't even know if she ever noticed, but I did. I used to be so jealous of Casey…But…After awhile, I just accepted that April's heart would always be for Casey."

"…Why?" Raph asked, curiosity in his voice.

"Well…Look at me." Donnie said gesturing towards himself with a smile.

Raph shook his head. "April never cared about that." He whispered, hugging his knees to his chest.

"Maybe not…But she would have to sacrifice a lot if she truly wanted to be with me. Her life of living above ground would have to change, we'd never be able to have a proper wedding, she would never be able to show her friends pictures of her husband, and then there's the issue of what the kids would look like…" Donnie trailed off.

Raph was about to say something when Donnie interrupted him. "It just wouldn't work. Besides, it doesn't really matter now anyway. They're both gone." And Donnie began to gaze off into space, into nothingness that only he could see.

Raph stood up and decided to make amends with Mikey, it really wasn't right that they should be like this. If Mikey had something to say, he'd say something…When he was ready.

But as Raph was about to go over to his brother he noticed that the 'nothing' that Donnie had been staring at was actually Leo…A very unhappy Leo at that.

Raph swallowed the bile that was rising in his throat. Something was wrong…Very wrong. The expression on Leo's face…It was something that Raph had hoped he would never see again. An expression that he thought was long gone…

Leo's depression was back.

&&&&&&

Leo paced up the length of the 'cell' in a rage. He couldn't believe this. Not only was his family separated, but they were also fighting! They couldn't fight! Fighting meant weakness…And weakness meant failure.

Anger sizzled in the pit of Leo's stomach. It had only been a matter of three days and he had failed everything. And the worst part was, he knew he could make it right. If he was at home right now, Donnie would have all ready thought of a plan and they would've defeated the Shredder by now, but no.

Instead, they were stuck inside one of Bishop's cells for some psychotic lab experiment when they could be doing so much more. And it was all because of him.

He should have had a plan is Shredder came back, seeing as he had always come back before. But he had been so sure this time! He had been banished! Banished! How the hell could somebody escape from banishment?

He should've heard their attackers coming, and he should have been looking for a way out of this circus freak show right now!

Except there was no exit. There was no way out.

&&&&&&

Bishop studied the minds of the terrapins with such glee; it was like watching Charlie's face as he entered Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.

Bishop had always known that Leonardo had a dark mind, he had known that since day one. He was hard on himself, a hard shell to crack. But…He had so many weaknesses, so many flaws. He would be gone quickly.

But Michelangelo, Michelangelo surprised Bishop. Who knew such a goofy turtle could have such a dark mind? The usual wisecracking jokester had more secrets than the rest of his brothers combined. And, unlike his other brothers, his weakness was not that of his family or enemies. No, his weakness lied within a secret romance…With a human.

Then there was Raphael, good old Raphael. The tough guy was nothing but a big old softie with anything but concern for his brothers and his decrepit father. He would be another easy one.

It seemed that Donatello would be the hardest one to break. He was not a faker, he was the only one who was true to him both inside and out, and he did not appear to have any weaknesses per se. If April were still…Okay, that would probably be his closest thing to a weakness. Although Donatello was always concerned and caring about his brothers, he was always the accepting one of everyone and everything. As a scientist, everything had a reason, and ever the optimistic one, Donatello moved on from even the most tragic of tragedies.

Perhaps Donatello had no weakness, although that was impossible because everyone had one. But maybe, he was just very good at hiding it, seeing, as he was a deep thinker.

No matter, Bishop would get back to him later. But first, he would have to get through to the easiest turtle of all…Raphael.

&&&&&&

The doors opened and the brothers were shocked by the sudden brightness. Bishop stepped into the room, which caused every one of the reptiles to stiffen.

Bishop gave a slight smirk. All ready the turtles were beginning to divide, doubting each other and themselves. He'd have to figure out what went on in the cell later. As of right now, he had a job to do.

"Calm yourselves terrapins. I have only come for one of you…For now."

"Thanks for the warning Bishop." Mikey said, saluting him with mock cheerfulness.

Leo stood tall. "We refuse to separate from one another."

"Even if it may mean costing your brothers' lives?" Bishop asked quietly.

Leo still stood tall, but his eyes darted with uncertainty and fear.

"Don't worry Leonardo, for once I have not come for you. I have come for Raphael."

Everyone seemed taken aback by the sudden change, usually it was always Leo. And Raph seemed the most shocked out of all of them.

Leo growled. "What do you want with him?" He hissed.

Bishop clucked his tongue in mock disapproval. "Now Leonardo, if I told you that that would ruin the surprise wouldn't it?"

Leo glowered at him, but Raph stepped forward. "Whatever you've got for me Bishop, I'm all for it!"

"Raph! Don't!" Leo whispered, trying to grab his arm.

But Raph had all ready disappeared with a triumphant Bishop right behind him.

&&&&&&

"Step into this room please." Bishop said monotonously as they approached a metal bolted door.

"What for?" Raph asked in suspicion as the bolt came loose from the keypad Bishop had tapped into.

Bishop raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were ready for anything I was going to throw your way?"

Raph bared his teeth in utter annoyance before disappearing through the door.

Bishop smirked as he slammed and bolted the door shut behind him.

"Computer…Phase one is to be put into action with first specimen…Immediately."

A satisfying beep sounded assuring Bishop that the order had been given out.

One phase down…Four more to go.

&&&&&&

Raph stood in the bare room and shivered slighlty. Why was it so cold in here?

Suddenly, the scene changed to a blizzard in the middle of a forest.

Raph shivered again, and hugged his arms to keep warm. The snowflakes stung his cheeks and he felt as if his face was being torn apart by the freezing sleet. Raph's teeth began to chatter, and his legs quaked as he searched his surroundings. He should've listened to Leo…Again.

Raph blew out a cloud of fog and he slowly began to move forward. His feet were freezing, especially his toes. But he was all ready in knee deep snow, and he had to keep moving, maybe he could find some sort of shelter…

Raph turned when he saw movement brush by him on the right side. All he saw were snow covered trees and bushes.

As he began to move forward again, he noticed a shadow flitting in the trees up ahead.

Raph narrowed his eyes and pursued the figure, never letting him out of his sight. Maybe it was an enemy…Or a friend…Either way he was going to find out…

"Hey!" Raph shouted, pumping his legs through the snow.

The figure kept going.

"Hey!" Raph shouted again, slipping and sliding and constantly losing his footing in the now waist high snow.

The figure kept running.

Raph's lungs burned with exertion, but he kept on running until he neared a clearing.

There, he saw the figure…His brother, Leo.

"Leo?" Raph asked, confused. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back in the cell?"

Leo didn't respond. He stood near the edge of the cliff, and the wind from the south caused his blue bandanas to whip around him like a blur of dancing snowflakes, or flags flapping in the wind.

"Leo? Do you know where we are? What's going on?"

Leo, still silent, reached out his hand.

Raph took a step back. "What are you doing?"

Leo pointed to the cliff's edge.

Raph's eyes widened. "Have you gone nuts? Jump off the end of that cliff? No way!"

"Trust me Raph." Leo spoke, stretching out his hand a little further.

"No!" Raph shouted, taking another few steps backward.

Leo, instead of looking hurt, just shrugged and turned around.

"Wait…Leo…" Raph said, stretching out his hand.

But he couldn't will himself to move. He couldn't will himself to follow his brother off the side of the cliff.

"You don't trust me." Leo said flatly before diving over the edge.

"NO! LEO!" Raph screamed as he ran over to the edge.

But it was too late, his brother was gone and the simulation ended.

&&&&&&

OK, that's it for now. Once again, sorry for the long awaited update. Please review for comments/questions/concerns/suggestions. Remember…No reviews, no update!


	7. Unveiled

Advanced Warning: This may be the last update in a while due to the start of school!

&&&&&&

Raph lay on the cold metal floor in what seemed like days. Was it days? He couldn't remember. He couldn't feel anything. Everything was so cold. Maybe that was because of the simulation, or maybe it was because the insides of him seemed to have frozen.

He couldn't believe what he had just done. He hadn't trusted Leo: His mentor, his leader, and his _brother._ How could he have done something like that? He'd rather have his brother die by himself than die with him? Is that what the simulation was meant to prove? What was wrong with him? He'd die for Leo, wouldn't he?

What Raph didn't realize while he was pondering this matter, was that two men were standing uncertainly in the doorway.

"He's been like that for almost thirty minutes…It's like he's gone catatonic or something." The first guard muttered to his ally.

The second guard shuddered. "I don't like this at all. Ever since Agent Bishop started taking orders from that Shredder his experimentations have gotten creepier…well creepier than usual anyway."

"What's even so special about these turtles? Agent Bishop's encountered far stranger beings that are more of a threat than these four."

"I'm telling you that Shredder's messing with his head. In my personal opinion I think both of them are completely mental. I mean, who wants to capture a whole bunch of turtles anyway? I mean sure, they're mutated but they're _turtles._ What's so special about turtles?"

The first guard shrugged. "I'm not about to question it. Come on, let's get him back to his cell before Agent Bishop Throws a fit that we haven't put him back yet."

The guards advanced towards the turtle and each grabbed one of his arms and began to drag him. It was like dragging a dead weight. It was almost as if the turtle had given up, or apart of him had died. The guards exchanged uneasy glances and hastened to get the turtle back in his cell and get him away from them as quickly as possible.

&&&&&&

Donnie gave out an irritated sigh as Leo continued to pace the cell. He had been doing that for the past two hours since Raph had left. Sure there wasn't much else to do, but couldn't the guy just sit still for once? It was bad enough that Leo and Mikey weren't speaking to each other and he was stuck in the middle, but it was another story when both of them were getting on his nerves. While Leo was pacing, Mikey had taken to the task of finding little ways to entertain himself. As of right now, Mikey was tapping his teeth repetitively while Donnie was trying to gain some quiet.

Donnie began to grind his teeth as Mikey began to tap out some irritating tune on his teeth.

'_Calm… Just…Be…Calm…GAH!'_

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" Donnie thundered, jumping to his feet, startling both Leo and Mikey. 

"What are you talking about Don? We haven't been doing anything." Leo said.

"That's my whole point! If you're pissed at each other yell, scream, punch each other…Do _SOMETHING_! You're not the only two people in this stupid cell or chamber or whatever it is! This is just as uncomfortable for me as it is for you two!" Donnie snapped.

Leo shrugged. "I have nothing to say." He said coldly.

"Oh come on! How old are you? Five? Get real Leo! We're not going to be getting out of this place any time soon so we should just get everything out of our system and move on. Or else we'll never be able to work as a team!" Donnie said impatiently.

"What am I supposed to say?" Leo exploded.

Donnie was donned speechless as Mikey looked between the two brothers in uneasiness.

Before the argument could lead any further, the door opened and Raph was thrown in before the door shut again.

Leo ran over to his brother, who had made no move to get up.

"Raph! Are you okay? What did they do to you?" Leo asked, grabbing on to Raph's shoulders.

Raph looked blankly up at Leo before shrinking away from him as if he had the plague. "What are you doing here?" He muttered.

Leo looked at him confusion. "Raph…I've been here all along."

Raph shook his head as fear took over his shoulders. "No…You jumped. I saw you. You jumped off that cliff. Oh God…You're haunting me aren't you? Because I didn't jump off the cliff with you…" Raph's voice trailed off.

"What are you talking about?" Leo asked as Raph began to shiver.

"It's cold…The cold is following me…"

Leo looked at Donnie worriedly who had his mouth set in a grim line.

"He's traumatized."

"But how?" Leo asked.

Donnie shook his head. "It doesn't make sense…You and Raph on a cliff? And you jumped off and he didn't? You guys never left the premises, not to mention that that never happened…Right?"

"Of course not! If I was going to jump off a cliff I wouldn't have Raph jump off with me!" Leo exclaimed.

Donnie tried to hide his uneasiness by that last comment and turned back to his brother who had fallen asleep.

Donnie shook his head. "Let's just leave him alone for now, we can question him more later…"

And once again, Leo took to pacing as Donnie watched his younger brother who hadn't moved from his spot on the floor.

Donnie studied his brother carefully before deciding to approach him.

"What's up Mike?" Donnie asked casually.

Mikey averted his gaze to the floor and hugged his knees.

"I shouldn't have yelled at him…" He said quietly.

"It's okay Mike…These things happen. We all say things we don't mean. Raph knows you didn't mean it."

"Does he really?" Mikey asked skeptically.

Donnie gazed at his brother and noticed that Mikey's face was filled with doubt…That had never been on his face before…Not once.

"Mike…Do you want to tell me what's going on?" Donnie asked softly.

Mikey bit his lip. "I…I did something bad." He whispered.

Donnie raised his eyebrow. "What did you do?"

"I…I took…" Mikey trailed off.

"Drugs?" Donnie asked.

Mikey's head snapped towards Donnie. "How did you know?"

Donnie gazed at him refusing to answer until Mikey gave a sigh of defeat.

"OK, you caught me. But it's not what you think."

"That's everyone's excuse." Donnie said.

Mikey's fists shook as he looked at him. "You don't know what it's like. I want to take a hit so badly and just get away from this…Escape. But I can't, and it sucks. Drugs were the only thing that took me away from my family. And I don't have anything to help me get away now."

"What do you mean…Escape from your family?"

Mikey sighed. "Look…Leo's depression messed me up badly. I had never seen him like that before. I wanted to help him, I did. But he just shut me out. I think that's when it started. That was what put me over the edge. I didn't know who to talk to about it; I didn't know what I could do to help him. It just seemed like everything I did was useless…Like I was useless. I mean, if I can't even help myself, how could I have helped my brother? I…I went out for some fresh air one night. There was a man…He was high…I…Scared him into handing over whatever stash he had. I wanted to see if it was worth it, and to me…Getting high was worth it."

"Does anyone else know?" Donnie asked.

"Angel does." Mikey muttered.

"Angel? Why does Angel know about this?"

"I can't tell you." Mikey said firmly.

Donnie's eyes widened. "Is she the one supplying you with the drugs?"

Mikey refused to look at Donnie.

"Oh Mike…" Donnie whispered.

'_What the hell is happening to this family?'_ Donnie thought.

&&&&&&

April stared up at the white ceiling. There was somebody who kept on visiting her…But there were no visitors allowed…And she didn't know who he was.

Suddenly, he was there again. "Hi April."

She whimpered and shrank back from the figure.

"I see you still haven't let go of that shuriken." The man said, gesturing towards the metal still clutched in April's pale hand.

"Go away!" April said, covering her ears and squeezing her eyes shut.

"April," The man said seriously. "Your friends need you. You need to snap out of it."

"No! You go help them! I don't want to!" April screamed.

"I can't April…I'm just a ghost. I know what you're afraid of." He whispered.

"I'm not afraid! I'm not!" April shrieked.

"Yes you are. You're afraid of losing them, like you lost me. You know me April. We were going to share an apartment together…."

"No!" April shrieked, shaking her head.

"But we were attacked…I was going to take you out to dinner that night…I was going to propose to you…They found the ring in my pocket…"

_Casey grinned down at April. "Let's have a toast."_

"_To what?"_

"_To a new beginning."_

"NO!" April screamed again.

"The guys found you just in time. You would've died if it hadn't been for them…But they were too late for me…"

"NO NO NO NO!" April screamed, beginning to thrash down on the bed.

"It's your turn April…You can save the guys like they saved you. It's not too late…"

"I DON'T KNOW HOW TO CASEY!" April yelled in irritation.

But Casey had gone and April gave out a frustrated sigh and threw the shuriken across the room.

&&&&&&

Bishop walked across the cold metal floor and approached the door leading to his prisoners.

"Leonardo…Take your brother and come with me." Bishop said hotly.

Leo glared at Bishop and didn't move. Raph had at least sat up by this point. But he was rocking back and forth and muttering to himself.

Bishop glared back at Leo and slid something out of his sleeve that looked like it resembled a clicker and clicked a button which caused Leo to double over in pain as electric currents shocked him throughout his body. He slowly stood up, pulling Raph with him who had begun to scream at this point.

Bishop smirked. "Very good."

&&&&&&

Leo was thrown into a metal room and cursed himself as they dragged Raph away into a room next door.

As Leo gazed around the room, the room began to change into a setting…The setting was a rooftop in New York at night. Leo gazed along the rooftop and saw the Shredder on the next rooftop over.

"Shredder." Leo hissed before taking off across the rooftops following the Shredder as he leapt from roof to roof.

Finally, they ended on top of Foot headquarters and faced each other. Leo reached up instinctively and was surprised to find his swords.

Weren't they taken away?

"Face me Leonardo." The Shredder hissed.

Leo averted his gaze from his sword and lunged for the section where he knew the ootrom would be located.

Then, it was almost as if another part of him had taken over as he began to stab repeatedly, there was red everywhere, and he wanted more of it…More, more, more.

"Leo…Stop."

"Never." Leo hissed maliciously.

"Leo! What are you doing?" Came a cry from behind him.

Leo turned around to see his brother looking at him in horror.

"What? He deserved it!" Leo said defensively, turning back to finish his job.

As he turned back he saw not the Shredder, but Raph. Raph with a gaping wound in his stomach…Raph with blood bubbling and gurgling out his mouth.

"Raph…No…I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to!" Leo screamed.

And the simulation ended.

&&&&&&

Karai gazed over the city that would soon be her father's within a few hours. Right now her father was speaking to his army about their course of action.

Karai closed her eyes. So many deaths had occurred within just a few hours of her father's plan being put into action.

And what had become of the turtles? Were they hurt? Dead? What did her father want with them?

As Karai gazed out at the city…She couldn't help but feel that sense of longing that had eaten away at her since she was a child. She wanted to so be those people down below, walking hurriedly back to their homes, to their families.

As a child, Karai had watched children with envy. They had a loving home, a loving life, loving parents…Who never cared about training…Who never cared about taking down their enemies. A child's greatest worry was the amount of homework they got and whether or not they would be able to make it home to be able to watch their favorite TV show in time.

Karai sighed and turned away from the window. As much as she loved her father…She couldn't help but fear him.

Why couldn't she just be normal like everyone else?

&&&&&&

OK, that's it…Hope it wasn't too bad! " In case you haven't figured it out all ready…The darkest hopes, secrets, and dreams of most of the TMNT characters are going to be revealed in this fic as I see it anyway. So please review and also, I'm having a hard time on trying to figure out what Donnie's worst fear would be, so if anyone has any suggestions or ideas please send them in a review or a PM thanks!


End file.
